Latest news with #underdog
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Five stories from Britain's best sporting underdogs
British sports fans have always loved an underdog, to root for a David when they're faced with a Goliath. Underdogs are athletes who have pushed down barriers, who achieved things they typically were not meant to achieve. As part of a new BBC Sounds podcast series, Sport's Greatest Underdogs, the BBC tells the story of five of Britain's best and how they managed to achieve sporting success against all the odds. Read their stories and vote for who you think is the best sporting underdog in our poll below. Listen: Sport's Greatest Underdogs Nicolas Hamilton In 2015, Nicolas Hamilton became the first disabled racing driver in the British Touring Cars series. But a year later he was out of the sport and had became a gambling addict. "I didn't feel valuable," Hamilton, the brother of seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis, said. "I wasn't racing and I wasn't getting sponsorship. My Dad is a multi-millionaire, my brother is a multi-millionaire, and they are going on this upward trajectory. "I felt very lost and lonely and I just stumbled across gambling." However, Hamilton, who has cerebral palsy, made his British Touring Cars comeback in 2019 and is currently competing in the 2025 championship. Read more about his story here. Listen: Sport's Greatest Underdogs - Nicolas Hamilton Beth Shriever BMX rider Beth Shriever became the first British athlete to win a gold medal in the sport at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The Essex cyclist had to contend with having her funding cut on the road to Tokyo. In 2017, UK Sport announced they would only fund male riders, based on results, and Shriever left the national set-up to go solo. She crowdfunded £50,000 to help her earn the chance to qualify for the Olympics. "I'm so grateful that people did donate and I was able to get to these places to qualify and get myself on that start line," she said. Listen: Sport's Greatest Underdogs - Beth Shriever Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards had only been ski jumping for 20 months when he qualified for the Calgary Winter Olympics of 1988, becoming Britain's first-ever competitor in the event. He took it up because Alpine skiing was too expensive, and his journey was one of pure determination as he borrowed kit, ate out of bins, and slept in his car to achieve his dream. While Edwards went on to finish last in the both the 70m and 90m events, he became a global and sporting icon. "I had so much fun getting to Calgary, that Calgary was my gold medal," Edwards said. "I'm very proud of what I've achieved. I broke boundaries, I pushed envelopes, and I did everything that people said couldn't be done." Episode released on BBC Sounds on 30 July. Nicola Adams Double Olympic gold medallist Nicola Adams grew up in a male-dominated boxing world but never gave up on her teenage dream of one day competing at the Olympics. But when the sport debuted at the 2012 Olympics, she took her chance and went on to win gold, followed by another gold four years later at the Rio Games. "The funding wasn't there, a lot of us were still working and trying to fund being athletes as well, which was really difficult," Adams said. "When we'd go away and we wouldn't even have our own competition gear, we'd have to wash it for the other person to wear for competing the next day. "It was just such a different comparison to when you looked at when the guys went away. They'd have everything. "They'd have somebody go out a week before, get the hotel set up. They'd have all the rooms on the same floor. They'd make sure all the fridges were stacked, but then we couldn't even get our own separate competition gear." Episode released on BBC Sounds on 6 August. Leicester City Leicester City were the 5,000-1 outsiders who shocked the footballing world to win the Premier League title in 2016 for the first time in their 132-year history. A year earlier they were bottom of the table, having been promoted from the Championship and struggling to adapt to life in the top flight. But they turned things around under manager Nigel Pearson to avoid the drop, and when Claudio Ranieri was appointed in the summer of 2015 the club's winning run continued into the new season, and did not stop. They won 23 of their 38 matches, despite one of the smallest playing budgets in the league, to pull off what remains as one of the greatest unexpected sporting stories of all time. Two-part episode released on BBC Sounds on 13 August.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Five stories from Britain's best sporting underdogs
British sports fans have always loved an underdog, to root for a David when they're faced with a are athletes who have pushed down barriers, who achieved things they typically were not meant to part of a new BBC Sounds podcast series, Sport's Greatest Underdogs, the BBC tells the story of five of Britain's best and how they managed to achieve sporting success against all the their stories and vote for who you think is the best sporting underdog in our poll below. Nicolas Hamilton In 2015, Nicolas Hamilton became the first disabled racing driver in the British Touring Cars a year later he was out of the sport and had became a gambling addict."I didn't feel valuable," Hamilton, the brother of seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis, said."I wasn't racing and I wasn't getting sponsorship. My Dad is a multi-millionaire, my brother is a multi-millionaire, and they are going on this upward trajectory."I felt very lost and lonely and I just stumbled across gambling."However, Hamilton, who has cerebral palsy, made his British Touring Cars comeback in 2019 and is currently competing in the 2025 more about his story here. Beth Shriever BMX rider Beth Shriever became the first British athlete to win a gold medal in the sport at the Tokyo Olympics in Essex cyclist had to contend with having her funding cut on the road to 2017, UK Sport announced they would only fund male riders, based on results, and Shriever left the national set-up to go crowdfunded £50,000 to help her earn the chance to qualify for the Olympics."I'm so grateful that people did donate and I was able to get to these places to qualify and get myself on that start line," she said. Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards had only been ski jumping for 20 months when he qualified for the Calgary Winter Olympics of 1988, becoming Britain's first-ever competitor in the event. He took it up because Alpine skiing was too expensive, and his journey was one of pure determination as he borrowed kit, ate out of bins, and slept in his car to achieve his Edwards went on to finish last in the both the 70m and 90m events, he became a global and sporting icon. "I had so much fun getting to Calgary, that Calgary was my gold medal," Edwards said. "I'm very proud of what I've achieved. I broke boundaries, I pushed envelopes, and I did everything that people said couldn't be done."Episode released on BBC Sounds on 30 July. Nicola Adams Double Olympic gold medallist Nicola Adams grew up in a male-dominated boxing world but never gave up on her teenage dream of one day competing at the Olympics. But when the sport debuted at the 2012 Olympics, she took her chance and went on to win gold, followed by another gold four years later at the Rio Games."The funding wasn't there, a lot of us were still working and trying to fund being athletes as well, which was really difficult," Adams said."When we'd go away and we wouldn't even have our own competition gear, we'd have to wash it for the other person to wear for competing the next day. "It was just such a different comparison to when you looked at when the guys went away. They'd have everything. "They'd have somebody go out a week before, get the hotel set up. They'd have all the rooms on the same floor. They'd make sure all the fridges were stacked, but then we couldn't even get our own separate competition gear."Episode released on BBC Sounds on 6 August. Leicester City Leicester City were the 5,000-1 outsiders who shocked the footballing world to win the Premier League title in 2016 for the first time in their 132-year history. A year earlier they were bottom of the table, having been promoted from the Championship and struggling to adapt to life in the top flight. But they turned things around under manager Nigel Pearson to avoid the drop, and when Claudio Ranieri was appointed in the summer of 2015 the club's winning run continued into the new season, and did not stop. They won 23 of their 38 matches, despite one of the smallest playing budgets in the league, to pull off what remains as one of the greatest unexpected sporting stories of all episode released on BBC Sounds on 13 August.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
📸 Title defence in doubt: ruthless Italians stun England
If one thing is certain about this Women's Euro, it's that nothing is certain. After the English women dominated the game sovereignly for the first half hour in the first semi-final, it's suddenly 1-0 for the underdog from Italy. 📸 Alexander Hassenstein - 2025 Getty Images Advertisement After a strong one-two pass, Cantera's cross landed at the feet of Barbara Bonansea, who coolly volleyed the ball into the net. Will the reigning champions from England be able to come back from this? It's certainly not going to be easy against the passionately playing Italians. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here. 📸 SEBASTIEN BOZON - AFP or licensors
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Footy legend Gorden Tallis reveals State of Origin secret that could inspire the Wallabies ahead of first Test against the British and Irish Lions
A chance meeting with footy legend Gorden Tallis in a Brisbane street this week has British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell on edge ahead of the first Test against the Wallabies on Saturday night. Joe Schmidt 's men are widely expected to be outclassed due to a raft of injuries and their formidable opposition. Tallis warned Farrell - a former rugby league star with Wigan - that Australia will embrace the underdog tag. 'I actually met Gorden Tallis today and we were reminiscing on a few things,' Farrell, who is also Ireland's head coach, told reporters on Friday. 'The 1994 World Club Challenge final (which Wigan won against the Brisbane Broncos) was huge. '(But) this seems a little bit bigger. This is huge. This would mean the world to me (beating the Wallabies). 'I actually saw him in the street, walking down the street. I went, 'Gordie, what are you doing here?' 'So we had a good 20 minutes (chat). It was great to catch up again. 'He used to say that everyone used to talk about Queensland being underdogs (during each Origin series). 'He said 'we never, ever saw it that way,' and Australia will be exactly the same.' Lions tyro Henry Pollock has boldly declared the series will be a 3-0 whitewash - but Farrell knows the Wallabies will be ready to silence their critics. 'You guys (reporters) have pointed out to me that they are underdogs for this series,' he said. 'I'm sure that they'll want to prove a point in regards to that type of thinking. They'll be fighting tooth and nail, won't they?' Meanwhile, for the first time in Wallabies history, players will wear their surnames on the back of their jerseys on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium. They are echoing Test cricket's lead of moving with the times to make the sport more accessible to viewers. Schmidt has handed Tom Lynagh his first Test start in the No.10 jersey - 36 years after his famous father Michael also took on the Lions. The visitors won the series 2-1 on their last tour to Australia in 2013, avenging a 2-1 series loss to the Wallabies in 2001.
Sky News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it's 'an underdog just like me'
Snoop Dogg has become a co-owner and investor of Swansea, with the US rapper hailing the Welsh football club as "an underdog that bites back, just like me". The former Premier League club, which plays in the English second tier, confirmed the US rapper and producer plans to use his own money to invest in it, Sky Sports reports, although it didn't disclose financial details. "My love of football is well known, but it feels special to me that I make my move into club ownership with Swansea City," the music icon said in the announcement. "The story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me," he added. "This is a proud, working class city and club. "An underdog that bites back, just like me. "I'm proud to be part of Swansea City. I am going to do all I can to help the club." Swansea's American owners, led by Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen, are trying to grow the Championship club's global brand and increase commercial revenue. Snoop Dogg, 53, who has 89m followers on Instagram and more than 20m on X, helped launch the team's 2025-26 home shirt last weekend. The club ownership group said: "To borrow a phrase from Snoop's back catalogue, this announcement is the next episode for Swansea City as we seek to create new opportunities to boost the club's reach and profile." Luka Modric, who recently signed with AC Milan from Real Madrid, joined Swansea's ownership group in April.
